Chants End Road Swing Tuesday at The Citadel The Coastal Carolina University baseball team (17-3), ranked as high as 10th in the nation, will end its four-game road trip in Charleston, facing The Citadel (14-5) Tuesday, March 23. First pitch is at 6 p.m., at Riley Park in downtown Charleston. The game will be broadcast on THE TEAM 93.9 FM in Myrtle Beach with Matt Hogue on the call. The game also will be video streamed thru The Citadel’s web site at www.CitadelSports.com. Coastal Carolina won two games in a weekend series over Charleston Southern with the third game cancelled due to rain.

Scouting The Citadel The Bulldogs are coming off their first-ever sweep at Elon to improve to 6-0 in the Southern Conference. Kyle Jordan drove in four runs for The Citadel, while William Ladd went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. The Citadel will throw righthander TJ Clarkson against the Chants. Clarkson is 1-0 with a 3.71 ERA and pitched five innings with three strikeouts in the 4-3 loss to VMI March 16.

Series vs. The Citadel Coastal Carolina holds a 36-30 advantage over The Citadel in the all-time series. Coastal has won four in a row over the Bulldogs, including a 3-1 winner March 4 in Conway. Chance Gilmore (Surfside Beach, S.C./Virginia) had an RBI triple in the eighth in the win. Adam Rice (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Elgin C.C.) is 4-for-9 lifetime against the Bulldogs.

Weather Forecast Tuesday: Partly cloudy, 64 degrees.

Chanticleers in the Polls Coastal Carolina is ranked in every poll as of March 22, the highest being 10th in the Baseball America poll. The Chants are 11th in Collegiate Baseball poll, 12th in the Rivals.com poll, 13th in both the Ping! Baseball and ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches’ poll and 14th in the NCBWA poll.

RPI Watch Coastal Carolina is 16th in the latest simulated RPI by Boyd’sWorld.com March 22. The Chanticleers also are 18th in the WarrenNolan.com RPI watch. Clemson leads the Boyd’sWorld RPI, while UCLA leads the WarrenNolan RPI.

La Stella Hits for Cycle in CSU Win Redshirt-sophomore Tommy La Stella (Closter, N.J./St. John’s) hit for the cycle in the 29-13 win over Charleston Southern March 20. La Stella doubled in the first, singled in the sixth, tripled in the eighth and capped the cycle with a grand slam in the ninth. La Stella ended the day going 4-for-6 with seven RBI’s and four runs scored. He also stole his first two bases of the season in the win.

Motter Hits Two Longballs in Saturday Win over CSU Sophomore Taylor Motter (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens) hit two home runs in the 29-13 win over Charleston Southern March 20, doubling his career home run total to four. Motter belted home runs in the sixth and ninth innings. He now has a .357 batting average after going 7-for-14 at the plate in the last three games.

Wheeler K’s Bucs Junior Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) struck out a career-high 12 batters in the 7-5 win over Charleston Southern March 19. Wheeler’s previous career high was 10, set against Radford April 10, 2009 and against Hawai’i March 26, 2009. Wheeler retired the final nine Buccaneer batters, five of which were by strikeout.

Woodward Continues Strong Career vs. CSU Junior Scott Woodward (Markle, Ind./Norwell) was 6-for-11 at the plate in two wins over Charleston Southern March 19-20. This included his first home run of the 2010 season. Woodward has a .548 batting average (17-for-31) with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI in his career against the Buccaneers.

Bats Go Crazy in 29-13 Win over Bucs Coastal Carolina set a season-high in runs and hits in the 29-13 win over Charleston Southern March 20. The Chants had 23 hits in the game and scored 14 runs in the final two innings. The 29 runs were the most by a Chant team since their 36-3 win over Stony Brook March 8, 2009 and the most in school history in a Big South Conference game.

Fleet Pitches Superb in the Michigan Win Redshirt-senior Austin Fleet (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) followed his first loss of the season with a great outing in his first start of the year. Fleet struck out six in six innings of work in the 3-0 win over Michigan March 14. He helped the Chants to their second shutout of the season.

Davis Swings Hot Bat in Six-Game Stretch Sophomore Steve Davis (Steuebenville, Ohio/Steubenville) went 10-for-15 with three doubles, a home run and four RBI as the Chants went 5-1 March 8-14. This included going a perfect 3-for-3 in a 14-3 win over Michigan March 13 that included his first home run of the year.

Cardiac Chants Defeat Wake For the third straight day, Coastal Carolina fell behind its opponent early, but came back to earn the victory. This time, the Chants were down 4-1 to Wake Forest, but erupted for four runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to defeat the Demon Deacons 9-4 March 9. Redshirt-sophomore Tommy LaStella (Closter, N.J./St. John’s) and senior Jose Iglesias (Miami, Fla./St. John’s) drove in two runs apiece, while sophomore Steve Davis (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Junior Matt Rein (Houston, Texas/Langham Creek) and freshman Ryan Connolly (Charleston, S.C./Bishop England) were stellar out of the pen, allowing just an unearned run with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

Iglesias Goes Deep Twice in Pittsburgh Win Senior Jose Iglesias (Miami, Fla./St. John’s) hit two home runs in the 9-6 win over Pittsburgh March 6. He hit a two-run shot in the second to give Coastal a 5-0 lead. He then connected in the seventh on another two-run blast, giving the Chants insurance. Iglesias hit two home runs for the second time in his career. He did on Opening Day of 2009 in a 16-3 win over Southern Illinois.

Comeback Wins Highlight Ball State Games The Chanticleers came up with back-to-back 3-2 wins over Ball State in the Caravelle Resort Invitational March 7 and 8. In the Sunday game, the Chants scored the third run in the bottom of the eighth with the help of two Ball State errors, and then used redshirt-senior Austin Fleet (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) to close it in the ninth. In Monday’s win, the Chants were down 2-1 in the eighth when junior Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla./Lawton) belted his second home run of the season to tie it at two. Coastal then won it in the ninth on sophomore Taylor Motter’s (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens) RBI fielder’s choice. The Ball State third baseman went to second for the force with the bases loaded, but freshman Josh Conway (Smithsburg, Md./Smithsburg) beat the throw to seal the win.

Igleisas Named to Johnny Bench Award Watch List Coastal Carolina University senior baseball player Jose Iglesias (Miami, Fla./St. John’s) is one of 53 catchers to be named to the 2010 Johnny Bench Award Watch List, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced March 1. The watch list will be narrowed down to 10 semifinalists, whom will be announced May 19, 2010. Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 2, 2010 prior to the NCAA Regionals and Major League Baseball Draft. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 13th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on July 1, 2010.

What a Weekend at Baseball at the Beach Coastal Carolina picked up four huge victories at Baseball at the Beach Feb. 26-28. The Chants opened with an 11-7 win over James Madison Friday afternoon. Coastal then defeated fourth-ranked UC Irvine twice on Saturday by scores of 7-3 and 11-6, that included a nine-run eighth inning to complete a comeback of the Anteaters. UC Irvine was the highest ranked team the Chants have ever beaten at home. The Chants ended the weekend with a 6-3 win over N.C. State Sunday afternoon. Coastal hit .352 on the week and had a .477 slugging percentage, while the pitching was highlighted by great performances by juniors Matt Rein (Houston, Texas/Langham Creek) and Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) and redshirt-junior Jim Birmingham (Pine Hill, N.J./Penn). Coastal also faced each team’s number one pitcher on the weekend in James Madison’s Turner Phelps, UC Irvine’s Daniel Bibona and N.C. State’s Jake Buchanan.

Iglesias, Birmingham Sweep Big South Awards Coastal Carolina senior catcher Jose Iglesias (Miami, Fla.) and teammate pitcher Jim Birmingham (Pine Hill, N.J.) have been named the Big South Conference’s Choice Hotels Player of the Week and The Crons Brand Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for games played Feb. 22-28, it was announced today by the League office. Iglesias had a monster week in helping the Chanticleers go 5-0 last week. He batted .526 (10-19) with eight RBIs, four doubles, a .737 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base average. He had a hit in all five games, including a 4-5 day with four RBI and two doubles in the Chanticleers’ 13-6 comeback win over No. 4 UC Irvine on Feb. 27. Iglesias went 2-4 with a pair of runs batted in against James Madison and was 2-3 with an RBI double in Coastal’s first game against the Anteaters. Iglesias also threw out a runner trying to steal. Birmingham picked up two wins over ACC opponents last week, allowing just one earned run in 11 innings of work. In the 2-0 win at Wake Forest, he started and allowed only one hit in five innings with two strikeouts in recording his first victory as a Chanticleer. Birmingham backed up that performance by striking out three and allowing seven hits but just one run in six innings in defeating North Carolina State. Birmingham’s line last week: 2-0, 0.82 ERA, 11 IP, 8 H (0 EXBH), 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 5 SO, .205 opponents’ batting average.

Pitching Key in Wake Forest Win Four Chanticleer pitchers combined for a four-hitter in the 2-0 win at Wake Forest Feb. 23. Redshirt-junior Jim Birmingham (Pine Hill, N.J./Penn) pitched the first five innings, allowing just a third-inning hit while striking out a pair for his first career win as a Chanticleer. Freshmen Josh Conway (Smithsburg, Md./Smithsburg) and Ryan Connolly (Charleston, S.C./Bishop England) came in and pitched three scoreless innings, while redshirt-senior Austin Fleet (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) earned his second save by pitching a scoreless ninth.

Bowman Has First Blast Sophomore Daniel Bowman (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) belted his first home run of the season in the 2-0 win over Wake Forest Feb. 23. Bowman’s opposite-field blast was the 14th of his career after setting Coastal’s freshman home run record (13) in 2009.

LaStella Off to a Hot Start Redshirt-sophomore Tommy LaStella (Closter, N.J./St. John’s) hit .545 in his first weekend in a Chanticleer uniform at the Caravelle Resort Tournament. The St. John’s transfer was 3-for-4 with a run-batted-in against Kentucky and drove in a run in the 4-2 win over West Virginia. LaStella joined redshirt-senior Chance Gilmore (Surfside Beach, S.C./Virginia) as the only Chants to have hits in each of the first three games.

Wheeler Gets Another Win Junior Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) pitched six innings, allowing just three hits and an earned run while striking out five in the 4-2 win over West Virginia Feb. 19. Wheeler is now 19-1 as a Chanticleer, which puts him tied for 17th place in career victories.

Fleet Earns First Save Redshirt-senior Austin Fleet (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) picked up his first save in the 4-2 win over West Virginia Feb. 19. Fleet gave up hits to the first two Mountaineers, but beared down to get out of the inning and preserve the win. Fleet has five saves on the year, the latest coming in a 3-2 win over Ball State March 7.

Gilmore’s Slam Lifts Chants over Virginia Tech With the game tied at five in the bottom of the fifth and the bases loaded, redshirt-senior Chance Gilmore (Surfside Beach, S.C./Virginia) ripped a shot over the right field fence for his first career grand slam. It was Coastal’s first grand slam in the first weekend of play since David Sappelt did the trick in the 2008 season opener against Maryland. Gilmore has 14 career home runs and has upped his career RBI total to 69.

It’s Rein Time Junior Matt Rein (Houston, Texas/Langham Creek) earned the win in the 13-5 victory over Virginia Tech Feb. 20 in the Caravelle Resort Tournament. Rein came in relief and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing just a hit and striking out two Hokies. Rein is now a perfect 8-0 in his Coastal Carolina career and has lowered his earned-run average to 3.33.

Chants Win Season Opener Coastal Carolina improved to 23-12 in season openers with the 4-2 win over West Virginia. Junior Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) earned the win, pitching six innings and striking out five. Redshirt-senior Chance Gilmore (Surfside Beach, S.C./Virginia) and sophomore Daniel Bowman (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) had two hits apiece. Coastal has now won its last five season lidlifters.

Draft Dodgers Coastal has five players on its roster that were taken in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Redshirt-senior Austin Fleet (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) was taken in the 2006 draft by the Atlanta Braves. Redshirt-Junior Jim Birmingham (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook (Penn)) was taken by the Nationals in the 25th round in 2006. Sophomore Anthony Meo (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) was selected in the 43rd round by the Washington Nationals, while classmate Daniel Bowman (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) was selected in the 48th round by the Texas Rangers. Freshman Josh Conway (Smithsburg, Md./Smithsburg) was picked in the 42nd round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Newcomers Dot Coastal Roster The Chanticleers bring in 11 newcomers to this year’s squad, including redshirt-sophomore Tommy LaStella (Closter, N.J./St. John’s), who is eligible to compete in games after sitting out last season due to NCAA rules on transfers. The Chants bring in five new position players and four new pitchers, including Sunday starter Matt Laney (Chester, Va./Miami Dade C.C.), and two-way player Josh Conway (Smithsburg, Md./Smithsburg).

Chants Picked to Win the Big South For the third consecutive year, Coastal Carolina University’s baseball team has been voted the Big South Conference’s preseason favorite by the League’s Head Baseball Coaches, it was announced by the Conference office. Coastal received eight first-place votes and 97 out of a possible 100 points to win the Big South in 2010. Coastal Carolina finished ahead of Liberty in the preseason poll, as the Flames collected one first-place vote and 88 points. Winthrop – last year’s Tournament runner-up, was picked third with one first-place vote and 81 points, while Radford finished fourth in the voting with 68 points. High Point received 59 points for fifth-place, while VMI placed sixth in the poll with 48 points. Charleston Southern garnered seventh-place (40 points), followed by Gardner-Webb at No. 8 (36 points). Presbyterian College, which is eligible for the League’s regular-season championship but not the Conference tournament, finished ninth in the poll with 18 points. UNC Asheville rounded out the voting with 15 points for the 10th and final spot.

Wheeler, Noel Picked Big South Preseason Pitcher, Player of the Year The Big South Coaches voted Chanticleers’ junior outfielder Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla./Lawton) the Conference’s Preseason Player of the Year and Coastal Carolina junior Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) the League’s Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Noel enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore in 2009, as he earned First-Team All-Big South honors after hitting .315 with 17 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 45 RBI in 63 games. He led the Big South with 48 stolen bases in 51 attempts, tying Tulane’s Josh Prince for first nationally in that category. Noel had a .500 slugging percentage, a .427 on-base percentage and stole two-or-more bases 12 times a year ago. He also had 19 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI performances. Among his highlights last season included a 4-for-5 game with four RBI in the win over West Virginia on Feb. 27, four stolen bases in the Charleston Southern win on May 15, a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs scored against Wake Forest on April 29, and a 2-for-3 day with three runs scored in the win over Kansas in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional. Noel also earned Big South All-Tournament Team honors last year and was named an All-Ping! Baseball Preseason All-American earlier this month. Wheeler was the Big South Pitcher of the Year in 2009 after posting a 10-1 record with a 3.83 earned run average in 15 starts for the Chanticleers. A Second-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Wheeler had 98 strikeouts in 91.2 innings pitched, and led the Big South in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts while ranking sixth in ERA. He threw a complete-game no-hitter in a 4-0 win at Hawai’i on March 26 – earning National Player of the Week honors by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA. Wheeler also gave up one hit in seven innings vs. VMI on May 10 and had 10 strikeouts in seven innings in defeating Radford on April 10.

Wheeler, Noel Earns Preseason All-American Honors Junior Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) earned Preseason All-American honors by three different organizations this past winter. Wheeler was named a Second Team Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA and a Third Team selection by Ping! Baseball. Wheeler earned a Second Team All-American nod last season by Collegiate Baseball. Junior Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla./Lawton) was named to the Ping! Baseball Preseason Third Team, joining Wheeler on that squad.

Gilmore Inducted in Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame Coastal Carolina University head baseball coach Gary Gilmore was inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame Feb. 14 at the Salem Civic Center. Gilmore is starting his 15th season with the Chanticleers and his 21st year as a head coach, compiling an 807-395 overall record. The six-time Big South Coach of the Year is coming off a 47-16 season and a trip to the 2009 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional. Gilmore has 13 40-plus win seasons, including regular-season titles in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Coastal Carolina also won the 2008 NCAA Conway Regional and advanced to the NCAA Cary Super Regional. Gilmore played for Franklin County High School in 1978 and was the Timesland Player of the Year. He played for the Chanticleers, hitting .353 with 69 steals in 90 games, before going to play for the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He worked as a scout for the Phillies and Seattle Mariners organizations before becoming a coach at USC Aiken, where he eventually took over the top spot in 1990. Gilmore compiled a 253-102 record in six years as a head coach.

Tough Schedule Faces Chants Coastal Carolina will face five teams that are ranked in the Baseball America Preseason Top-25 and 12 teams that are on the Perfect Game Crosscheckers Top-100 list, including home games against UC Irvine and James Madison at Baseball at the Beach, San Diego, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, UNC Wilmington, College of Charleston and West Virginia. The Chants also will visit top-20 teams North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia on the road as well as have a three-game Big South series at Liberty.

Chants Win 10th Big South Tournament Title Coastal Carolina won its 10th Big South Tournament title with a 7-1 win over Winthrop May 23 in Asheville, N.C. Coastal Carolina battled back from the loser’s bracket to win three games in two days, including the win over the Eagles. Senior David Anderson was named the Most Valuable Player after hitting .500 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBI. Anderson was joined on the All-Big South Tournament team by Rico Noel, Nick McCully and Austin Fleet. It was Coastal Carolina’s third straight title and seventh in the last nine years.

Chants Earn All-American Honors Sophomore Cody Wheeler and senior David Anderson were named to the Louisville Slugger All-America team. Wheeler was a Second Team selection, while Anderson was named to the Third Team. That duo joined Nick McCully on the Ping! Baseball Third Team. In addition, Anthony Meo, Taylor Motter and Daniel Bowman each were named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. Meo also was named an All-Freshman performer by the NCBWA and Baseball America.

Chants Win 12th Big South Regular-Season Title For the 12th time in school history, Coastal Carolina won the Big South Conference regular-season title. The Chanticleers wrapped up the outright title with its 6-4 win over Charleston Southern May 15. The Chants have won the crown six of the last 11 years. Coastal Carolina finished the regular season with a 21-5 mark, winning all 15 Big South games at home.

All-Big South Team Filled With Chants Coastal Carolina had eight players on the All-Big South Teams as well as the Player, Pitcher and Coach of the Year, it was announced May 20. Senior David Anderson was named the Player of the Year. It was the third straight honor for the Chanticleers as he joined Dock Doyle and David Sappelt as recent Players of the Year in the conference. Sophomore Cody Wheeler was a unanimous Pitcher of the Year honoree. It was the second time a Chanticleer earned the honor as Bobby Gagg was named Pitcher of the Year in 2007. Head Coach Gary Gilmore was named Big South Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career. Anderson and Wheeler were joined on the First Team by sophomore Rico Noel, junior Nick McCully and freshman Anthony Meo. Senior Tyler Bortnick, junior Adam Rice and freshman Daniel Bowman were named to the Second Team. Redshirt junior Austin Fleet was named to the Big South’s All-Academic Team.

Coastal Carolina Earns Daily Double Coastal Carolina won both the Big South regular-season and tournament titles for the third straight season and the sixth time in school history. Coastal Carolina also did the trick in 1991, 1992 and 2002.

Wheeler Impresses for Team USA Junior Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) played for the Team USA National Collegiate team this past summer, becoming the second Chant in as many years to play on that squad. On the tour, Wheeler had a 2.42 earned-run average with 31 strikeouts in 22.1 innings. He joins UCLA’s Gerrit Cole with matching 3-0 record on the tour. Junior Scott Woodward (Markle, Ind./Norwell) was on the team in 2008.

Chants on the Cape Juniors Scott Woodward (Markle, Ind./Norwell) and Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla./Lawton) and senior Adam Rice (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Elgin C.C.) played in the Cape Cod League this past summer. Woodward and Rice’s Bourne Braves met Noel’s Cotuit Ketteleers in the championship series, which Bourne won in two games.

Bowman Named Top Prospect in Valley League Coastal Carolina University sophomore outfielder Daniel Bowman (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) was named the top prospect in the Valley League by Baseball America, the magazine announced. Bowman, who played for the Luray Wranglers in the Valley League, hit .298 with eight doubles, eight home runs and 34 RBI. He also had a .498 on-base percentage for Luray.

Meo A Top Prospect for 2011 Draft Perfect Game Crosscheckers came out with a list of its Top 100 prospects for the next three drafts and it had sophomore Anthony Meo (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) as the 92nd best prospect in the country for the 2011 draft. Meo was 9-2 with a 2.93 earned-run average his freshman season with the Chants.

Up Next Coastal Carolina hosts San Diego in a three-game series March 26-28. Friday’s contest begins at 6 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday’s games beginning at 2 p.m., and 12 p.m., respectively.